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| A handout photo provided by Syria's Arab News Agency SANA shows destruction and huge damages caused by the three explosions that had rattled Saadallah al-Jabiri Square in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 3, 2012. According to media reports, three suicide car bombs exploded simultaneously in the area, killing at least 30 people. (Xinhua/SANA) |
DAMASCUS, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Syria's official news agency placed the initial death toll of the multiple blasts that struck the country's Aleppo province earlier Wednesday at 31, adding that scores of others were injured.
Earlier on Wednesday, multiple blasts struck the Sa'ad Allah al- Jabiri square in the heart of the northern city of Aleppo. Conflicting reports have emerged about the number of car bombs that ripped through the area.
The state-run SANA news agency said three suicide car bombs went off in swift succession at the square, while other media reports said four car bombs went off there.
Quoting an official source in Aleppo, SANA said that the first two car bombs were set off by suicide bombers near a hotel in that area, killing 31 people and injuring scores of others.
It said the twin blasts coincided with the a mortar attack by armed groups in the middle of the square, adding that after the mortar attack, gunmen disguised in the Syrian army uniform, stormed the square wearing explosive belts but were confronted by government troops.
The third car bomb, SANA said, went off at al-Jamilieh area after being shot at by the government troops that were stationing in that area, adding that the last blast caused no casualties.
Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, placed the death toll at 40, adding that four car bombs went off in Aleppo.
The fourth car bomb tore through the Chamber of Commerce in the Bab Janin area, said the Observatory.
The Observatory said the political intelligence branch in Aleppo was bombarded by mortar shells, adding that the al-Hal market, where government forces were stationing, was also attacked.
The Observatory also reported that several members of the Syrian political security forces were killed and wounded in a truck bomb blast in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour. The report cannot be verified independently.
The latest chaos comes as result of the pitch battles currently underway in Aleppo between the Syrian troops and the armed rebels, who announced last week the commencement of their "decisive" battle to win control over Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial hub.
A day earlier, a well informed source told Xinhua that the Syrian troops received huge reinforcements in Aleppo in order to settle the situation there once and for all. The source said that the city of Aleppo is expected to be cleansed within very few days.
Meanwhile, the pro-government al-Watan daily said Wednesday that the Syrian army has made up its mind and taken the decision to push through Aleppo's eastern districts, which have emerged as strongholds of armed rebels.
The daily said the battle in the eastern districts will be the decisive and last battle, adding that the Syrian troops killed 50 armed men at al-Sukkari district of Aleppo in a qualitative operation there. It said many of those killed were foreign nationals and headed by a Saudi who goes by the nom de guerre " Saudi Harithi."
The paper pointed out that the clashes are still raging for the third straight day at the entrances of the Aleppo's old covered market, particularly in the surroundings of the time-honored Omayyad Mosque.
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